The Weir by Conor McPherson

Authorial Biography

Conor McPherson was born in Dublin, Ireland on August 6, 1971. The Irish playwright was educated at the University College Dublin, where he studied philosophy, literature, and psychology. McPherson is known for his “amazing gift for storytelling,” often expressed in monologue form. Whether monologue or ensemble, his writing uses “understatement, indirection and contained tenseness” to serve his “uncanny gift for getting inside the minds of the characters he creates” (Brantley qtd. in Wood). McPherson’s plays are linear in narrative and movement in a way that seems better suited to the novel than the stage. (Haughney,Paul, Cormac O’Brien, and Josh Tobiessen. “Struggling Toward a Future: Irish Theater Today) McPherson has written Rum and Vodka, The Good Thief, This Lime Tree Bower, St. Nicholas, The Weir, Dublin Carol, Port Authority, Come on Over, Shining City, The Seafarer, and The Birds. McPherson is also a writer and director for films. He wrote Endgame and directed I Went Down, The Actors, and The Eclipse. Among many other achievements, McPherson was awarded the Evening Standard Award, George Devine Award, Critics Circle Award, and Laurence Olivier Award for The Weir.